Los Angeles Kings Dominate Capitals in Shutout Win

 

By Tim Haddock

03/15/2025 at 1:20 PM

 

Quentin Byfield extended his goal streak to five games as the Los Angeles Kings shut out the Washington Capitals at Crypto.com Arena, securing their fourth consecutive victory. Kevin Fiala contributed a power play goal and an assist, while Darcy Kuemper recorded his third shutout of the NHL season. With this win, the Kings remain in third place in the Pacific Division, continuing their playoff push ahead of upcoming matchups against the Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild, and Chicago Blackhawks.

 

 

LOS ANGELES - Quentin Byfield scored a goal for the fifth game in a row and the Los Angeles Kings shut out the visiting Washington Capitals at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.

The Kings won their fourth game in a row and Byfield scored his 16th goal of the season in the third period.

 

The Capitals came into the game with the highest winning percentage in the NHL. The Kings came into the game with a three-game winning streak and the best home record in the NHL.

 

Kings coach Jim Hiller said his team is earning the respect of other teams in the league as a tough, smothering team to face and a difficult one to play against.

 

“I think that is a real compliment to the players and that is a show of respect,” Hiller said. “That means you got a shot.

 

“It’s hard to do that for 60 minutes. It’s hard to do that.”

 

Warren Foegele gave the Kings a 1-0 lead in the first period. He scored his 19th goal of the season with about seven minutes to play in the first period.

 

The two teams did not score in the second period, giving the Kings a slim one-goal lead heading into the final period.

 

Kevin Fiala gave the Kings a two-goal lead about one minute into the third period on a power play goal. His 25th goal of the season gave the Kings a little cushion against a dangerous Capitals team.

 

Byfield scored less than a minute later and Fiala assisted for his second point of the game.

 

“Kevin has come a long way and his overall game is better,” Hiller said. “Tonight for me is one of the best games he’s played since I’ve been here.”

 

Fiala scored his team-leading ninth power play goal of the season and the 53rd power play goal of his career. It is the third time in his career he has scored at least 25 goals in a season.

It was more than enough for Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper, who made 21 saves and recorded his third shutout of the season.

“We’ve been doing a great job  of embracing the challenges of playing the top teams in the league all year. We get up for them,” Kuemper said. “And I think they bring out our best hockey.”

 

The Kings have been riding the hot hockey stick of Byfield since March 5 in a shootout loss to the St. Louis Blues. He has scored five goals in five games in a row, including one each in the past four games. 

 

Byfield scored a short-handed goal in the Kings 4-1 win over the New York Islanders at home on Tuesday, the third win in a row for the Kings.

 

The winning streak came after a five-game losing streak including three on the road.

 

His goal against the Islanders gave the Kings a 3-1 lead in the second period.

 

The Kings took a 1-0 lead in the first period against the Islanders on a goal by Vladislav Gavrikov, his fourth of the season.

 

The Islanders tied the score 1-1 on a goal by Anders Lee in the second period. The Kings scored two goals in the second period. Phillip Danault broke the tie with a goal midway through the period. Byfield scored his 15th goal of the season with six minutes to play in the second period.

 

Drew Doughty added an empty-netter, his second goal of the season, for the Kings fourth goal of the game.

 

The Kings started their four-game winning streak with a 2-1 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues at home. Byfield scored the game-winner in overtime.

 

The Kings followed with a 6-5 win over the Golden Knights in Las Vegas. Byfield was one of six Kings to score goals in that game. His goal early in the second period gave the Kings a 3-0 lead.

 

“We beat some of the best teams in the league this year, at homer and on the road,” Hiller said after the game against the Capitals. “We went into Vegas. We went into Winnipeg earlier this year. We expect to beat them. We know we’re not going to beat them every time. We expect that we can beat them but if we play like that, more often than not we will.”

 

The Kings have one more game at home, against the Nashville Predators, before heading on the road for two games against the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks.  

 

After 64 games, the Kings are 35-20 with nine overtime losses and in third place in the Pacific Division with 79 points. The Vegas Golden Knights are in first place with 85 points and the Edmonton Oilers are in second place with 80 points.